Fantastic images in my head – Winston Peters dressed as seductive Salome demanding the head of John the Changeling on a charger (and that word has lots of meanings.) Accompanying music?
Rogue could think of something?

they will do what every rightwinger always does, they will look after their own self-interest and property rights first, if that means doing a deal with winston to stay in power, then key’s head would quickly be separated from his body.

Aw poppet, get over your butthurt. Labour is playing fast and loose with the sale of electricity generation and telecoms, and supports the TPPA. The Greens want to go into coalition with Labour so won’t rock the boat too much. MANA is the only other party genuinely more left on the policies that NZF endorses, and no entirely sane person is going to vote MANA, so pooh to you.

Do any of those Key-adoring mumpties – including most of the MSM – ever sit down and think? Of course the police considered seizing his phone records. Somebody had clearly given Peters a broad outline (at the least) of what was on that tape. The more interesting aspect is why did they not go ahead and seize them. You can be sure it wasn’t for ethical reasons so, maybe in the end they didn’t have to because somebody else already had the gen. Peters seems to think so.

Bevan Hurley at the Herald obviously has copies of documents from the police file. He is the person who broke the story about the Ambrose text messages.

The police obtained these pursuant to a warrant. Time will no doubt tell but Peters obviously thinks that the Police contemplated getting a warrant to gain his telephone records.

If so this is really chilling and highlights the absurdity of the whole teapot tape saga. Key uses the powers of the state to investigate an alleged breach of his privacy but trashes the privacy of everyone in his attempt to stop the teapot tapes being published.

He must have had a lot to fear such were the steps that he went to hide the tapes.

Maybe they were a potential game changer as reported by the Herald. And talking disparagingly about the elderly may only have been the start.

Other priorities prevented me last night from following the Winne claims in detail, but my perceptions were that Winnie was claiming (words to the effect that) he had seen or been informed that there were communications about the possibility of accessing his phone records – specifically at the time the investigation was transferred by the police from Wellington to Auckland. Peters did not claim to have this evidence as yet, but seemed to be confident that he would have this within about five days. An OIA request by him would take much longer ….

In his claim in Parliament, Peters also said that he had found out only in the last 24 hours. He has always had his ‘sources’, and as a canny/experienced lawyer as well as a politician, has also been very careful to protect these sources. At the same time, of course, he loves the limelight! And is out to get Key – and Dunne. Add Banks to that list.

The audio of the Banks-Key tea party was online at one point. I listened to them. There really wasn’t anything much incriminating in them, other than the sneering attitude of Key. It shows more his desire to control the media as his own PR machine, rather than anything significant to hide.

Thanks for those links, Karol. I had forgotten about that aspect. At the time of the first link, the actual tapes were suppressed and court action to get this lifted failed as the situation was still under police investigation – final paras of the first link.

Was that suppression ever lifted? I am not sure. If not, it may be an idea to remove the second link….

I’m not sure if the tape is deemed in the public domain since the charges ave been dropped in relation to it. But I’ve removed the link just in case – not hard to find a copy of the audio file online, though. Didn’t take me long.

The teapot tapes story was almost entirely about John Key’s reaction rather than the content of the tape. The only political thing it displayed that was of interest (like the Kees tape in 2008) was the enormous discrepancy between the “public” position of major National party figures and their “private” positions. Their contempt for the voters was palpable.

Almost certain Craig. From private correspondence Slippery now knows beyond doubt that Peters will never support him, so the only course is to destroy him. Exactly the same as 2008, and the same strategy will be employed. Observe with interest the media coverage of Winnie from this point on.

Observe with interest the media coverage of Winnie from this point on.

Exactly. One point though, Peters will know what to expect over the next 12 months. He’s been down that road of attempted political assassination before (Winebox saga) and he has always won in the end. He must have something on Key that is potentially destructive but he will sit on it until he can inflict the most damage. That’s his usual modus operandi.

Of course, if the accusation of illegality is correct we might hope that Peters would not have to be in a position, post election, to ask that question of himself. The dilemma would have been pre-empted by other processes.

I agree, BG. I can understand why Peters went with National in the past, but I do not see him in any way going with a Key-led National Government, nor one led by either Collins or Joyce.

IIRC, he was also very clear at the last election that he would remain on the cross benches, and I would not be surprised if he maintains that position at the next one. Meaning that Labour, Greens, and Mana would have to have the numbers to form a government.

I just can’t see Peters’ ego allowing him to play second fiddle to the greens in a centre left coalition. He’ll go with the nats if he is all they need to get over the line. Rather number two than number three.

Also; would Peters be part of a government with someone as incompetent as Key has proven himself to be?

If a huge percentage of voters voted for National; Peters might feel obligated to go with that party, this would be the democratic thing to do.

However I agree with Bearded Git in perceiving Peters to ‘hate Key’s guts’

Perhaps the wording is a little strong however Peters relates in a way that comes across that he sees Key as the incompetent liar that he is and he appears angry about the devastating effect that this is having on our society and democratic principles,

I therefore see the question that the Contrarian poses re Peters as being more relevant.

“I was thinking of the scenario where NZF plus National created a large majority compared to NZF and Labour and Greens i.e. the largest number of votes should make up parliament.”

1. All votes make up parliament. I’m guessing you meant government.

2. If you meant government, then no, absolutely not. The confidence of 51% of the seats in parliament makes up government. Not the moon cycle, not the blood of a chicken, not alphabetical supremacy or the dewey system or who can throw a kettle over a pub or the “largest number” of anything.

2. Are you telling me that if Labour, Greens and NZ First collectively made up 60% of the vote and NZ First went with National and that arrangement made 51% of the vote; that you think that was the most democratic outcome?

@ Anne….Maybe the GCSB had Peters emails/phone calls and handed them over to Key?

See below:

exitlane 19
3 August 2013 at 4:47 pm
What is missing is the bigger picture arising from the latest Guardian revelations.

It’s almost certain the GCSB had already has accessed Dunne’s and Vance’ phone calls and emails anyway without relying on Parliamentary Services. Why almost certain? Because the latest revelations in the Guardian about XKeystore confirm a lowly analyst Like Edward Snowden can obtain the content of calls and emails of anyone anywhere with a few keystrokes and without a warrant.

These latest Snowden documents are headed with “NZL” at the top of all of them – meaning the GCSB has access to the XKeystore program as well. Are we so naive as to believe that the GCSB has this capability but does not use it and provide the data relevant to the Kitteridge report to its Master ?

It’s well overdue for the media – (and Dunne for goodness sake !) to start joining the dots between privacy breaches involving a few individuals like Dunne and Vance and the mass surveillance which will be permissible under the new GCSB law, and ask some hard questions of Key

Winston will clown around then get Key to publicly endorse a mutual arrangement. Then steal the show, by a humiliating write off of Key as not fit to lead the National Party. Icing on the cake he grabs the Whangarei seat & 10 % of the party vote. He is too tricky a character to know what happens from there, apart from a new super-super Gold Card.

Yes I agree, Peters may hate National, it just means that he will play a bit harder and demand a bit more…and he will enjoy every moment of the deal making. “Hate” seems to come with the territory in politics, it doesn’t only exist between Parties either.

If Winston Bjeikle-Peters goes with John Bjeikle-Keys next term then clearly that will by John Bjeikle-Keys last term. That would have serious effects for Winston Bjeikle-Peters in the following term, would it not?

This must surely be a guiding guide for him……

Mind you. maybe they would enjoy competing for the title of most incomprehensible statements rivalling the late great (not) John Bjeikle-Petersen, the infamous Queensland premier known for his inability to verbalise a sentence, his total and complete corruption, and his outright bigotry and bombast. This man was epitomised by his selection of running mate Russ Hinze who was simultaneously Racing Minister and Police Minister – in Australia’s most corrupt state………………….. the similarities are scary

Please. His name was Bjelke-Petersen, not Bjeikle-Petersen. He was of course, apart from the attributes you list, the most famous son of Dannevirke.
He did have a little better verbal ability than you credit him with though. After all he was the poitician who said, as he went to a press conference, that he was “going to feed the chooks”.
Seems a perfect description of the press gallery to me.

How has Key been caught out? It just says that police were considering prosecuting Peters because he made content of the tapes public while it was under investigation as possibly being illegal to publish such content.

Possibly it’s the fact that Eagleson was given regular updates on the police investigation?

Exactly karol when Peters said this”Eagleson was given regular updates on the police investigation” yesterday Key said it was utter nonsance.

So once again Keys of the cuff smart arse responses make him look silly. Winston will string him along now playing with him like a cat with a mouse.I wonder how long it is before Winston turns on Dunn.

It isn’t. Just as it isn’t given that Labour or National could get enough to maintain their positions as dominant coalition parties. It is however likely and even probable that all three of these events will come to pass.

The worst that NZF have gotten over the years since 1996 has been ~4.5% in 2008. That was after one of the more interesting and effective political scapegoatings that I’ve seen.

I don’t think that any similar campaign will work on people who vote NZF again, as is evidenced by the NZF showing in 2011. In fact I suspect that such campaigns in the privileges committee are forever going to tainted in the future by the completely partizan and largely fact free way that it was used to try to knock out a political party from the 2008 campaign.

Why? I’m guessing no. They won’t rule out working with NZF. They haven’t spent years vilifying either them or Winston.

Winston worked well with Helen’s cabinet and NZF with Labours caucus in 2005-2008 without any significant political drama until Joyce and the Nat’s research unit started to use Rodney Hide as a sockpuppet on a bullshit vendetta. At the time I said that it was unconvincing and wouldn’t fool the voters for long. I was right.

NZF got ~4.5% in 2008 and quite a lot more in 2011 despite the foolish political jerking off that Key did before the election. I guess enough voters had decided that it was all a frameup. I’d expect that it will be similar this time based on how effective he has been so far. I’d also expect that the Nats are going to be caught by their own previous boogeyman propaganda…

It just seems to be parts of National/Act, John Key, and their more rabid and unthinking supporters who have issues working with NZF and Winston. I can’t see any reason why Labour should concern themselves with dickheads who can’t be bothered looking beyond talkback, and who certainly never let their brains interfere with their bigotry.

Of more concern to Labour is if NZF tries to do the exclude Greens tactic this time that they and Peter Dunne did in 2005. However it seems unlikely to be possible to even try that this time.

The actual percentages by NZF were 4.07% in 1008 and 6.59% in 2011. That is a nearly 62% increase.
The thing to watch will be party rating in the pre-election polls. NZF tend to get the same number of votes in the election as they get in the final polls, unlike the Greens who tend to drop a couple of percentage points. If NZF are under 5% late in the campaign their voters may drift away rather than risk a wasted vote.
You suggest that it may not be possible to even try and exclude the Green party.
With Winston anything is possible. If he was to say that he would not give a confidence vote to a Labour/Green government what can Labour do? If he was the kingmaker they might just have to go along with him. Do you think it would really be possible for the Greens to support National, or themselves bring down a Labour/NZF government?
Winston has in the past regularly stated the view that he prefers to see a Government led by the biggest party, which is almost certainly going to be National. He is also likely to prefer to be the second tier of a two party government that the third of three.
As a final thought only the National party can offer him a knighthood to round out his career, and I think he craves that recognition.

I’m inclined to see Labour’s new push to restrict overseas ownership of housing stock as a coy eyelash flutter in the direction of NZF. In fact, Labour are doing a better job of marketing a policy that NZF has had for around two decades.

I’m not so sure. the teapot tapes last time got him over with a few oldies getting pissed off at Key, and there was tactical vote from lefties hoping for a miracle. Post election the support faded pretty quick.

If he’s polling sub 5 a couple of weeks out, and the L/R blocks are tied, (which looks poss if not prob) then it’s a whole nother ball game.

TV3 reveals Police were ready to ivestigate Peters’ phone records as next in line after Ambrose. Key’s truthfullness registering as an own goal yet again I’d say. Key is learning that smile, wave, bluster, scuttle and run are not the qualities of an honorable PM.

Well, it’s not that they were ready to investigate Peters, but that they were accessing people’s phone/txt records. Also, that the PM’s Chief of Staff was being regularly informed of developments.

If it was illegal to keep the recording of the tea party, it was also illegal for Peters to disclose their content.

3news framed it as being the Tea Pot tapes continuing to have an impact. I think the initial actions go back further than that, to the way NAct took out Peters before the 2008 elections – Peters is getting pay back. And Rortney, attack dog for National back then, is out of the picture. I think Peters will be happy to see the end of Key in politics.

The thing that all of us who might vote for NZ First is will he then join a coalition with the wrong side , and that is for me will he join Labour/ Green.
I had always thought no show and I still believe it. But I do not want my vote going to a Labour/Green/NZ First group and that means I probably get to vote Nat even though I don’t really want to. There will be a lot of water under the bridge yet. It is important for superannuants to know that devaluation means a lowering of fixed income value.
Grey power is still thin on the ground and it may be soon that the news gets out.
There is the categorical statement that NZ First will only form Government on agreement if Mighty River Power is Nationalised .
Its all very well NZ First saying we stick to our policy, but it will either be a NZ Nat Govt or a Labour /Green Govt, and I see the conservative NZ First people likely going back to camp

Alot of Grey Power folks recall the war (WWII) and later. They recall rationing and fighting for freedom. Hopefully some of the GCSB stuff resonates with them, but none of us know which way Winston would jump., He did make a surprisingly good fist of Foreign Affairs and his relationship with Rice is what paved the way for this Govt to take credit for their tongues being down the back of the US trouser.

As I suggested yesterday at 7.1.1.1 above, during the 2011 election, Peters stated that he would probably remain on the cross benches rather than go into coalition and I believed that he may well maintain that position at the next election.

And right on cue – TV3 this morning reported that Peters could stay on the cross benches after the next election. No, I did not have prior knowledge.

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The continuing fall in Kiwi kids’ performance in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study shows the damage being inflicted by National’s cuts to education and one-size-fits-all approach, says Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins. “For years, National has ...

Child protection has taken a massive step backwards today with the Government passing a Bill that will give significant powers to unspecified ‘professionals’ or contract holders, says Labour’s Acting Children’s spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni. ...

Last week the Productivity Commission put out a report about how to grow “weak labour productivity”. These views are being criticised as being straight out of the 1980s. What is a real problem is that we have a problem of ...

The Green Party has campaigned for several years for mandatory palm oil labeling to give consumers choice. Most consumers do not want to support a palm oil industry that is destroying tropical rainforests and contributing to dangerous climate change emissions. ...

Cases of syphilis are increasing in Auckland. You read that right, syphilis! RNZ reported today that rates of syphilis have increased by 71 percent (between 2013-2015). We have known about the increase in syphilis figures for a while, but nothing ...

The charade of this Government’s sound economic management is unraveling. Misleading GDP figures, pumped up by property speculation and high immigration, have given the impression that all is well, masking our continued productivity decline compared to OECD countries. In fact, ...

Labour Party Leader Andrew Little has acknowledged John Key’s contribution to Government. “John Key has served New Zealand generously and with dedication. Although we may have had our policy differences over the years, I respect the Prime Minister’s decision to ...

The victory of Labour’s newest MP, Michael Wood, in Mt Roskill is the result of a well-organised campaign run with honesty and integrity, says Labour Leader Andrew Little. “I congratulate Michael Wood on his great victory. He will be a ...

Apartment builder Ockham Residential has become the latest voice to call for the government to build affordable homes for Kiwi families to buy, says Labour’s housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “Helen O'Sullivan of Ockham has now joined prominent businesspeople like EMA ...

The death of Fidel Castro is a huge historical moment for the older generation who grew up with the toppling of Batista, the Bay of Pigs debacle, the death of Che Guevara and the US blockade against Cuba. For younger ...

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has more than halved the number of fisheries observers in the East Coast North Island snapper trawl fishery (SNA1). This reduction in observer days, combined with major failures in an unproven and controversial video ...

TheMāori Land Court, hailed as an “exemplar” by the Ministry of Justice chief executive and Secretary, Andrew Bridgman is under siege by the Government through Māori land reforms and a Ministry restructure, says Labour’s Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Meka Whaitiri. ...

When approximately 60 per cent of children in state care are Māori processes need to change in favour of whānau, hapū and iwi solutions, said Labour’s Whānau Ora spokesperson Nanaia Mahuta. “Widespread concern about Government reforms of Child Youth and ...

The statistics for hip and knee electives under this Government make depressing reading, says Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King. “Under the last Labour Government we achieved a 91 per cent growth in hip and knee elective surgery. Sadly under this ...

No amount of spin from Hekia Parata can hide the fact that per-child funding for early childhood education has been steadily decreasing under the National government, Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says. “In the 2009/10 year early childhood services received ...

35% of New Zealanders now live in places where the average house costs over a million dollars, and it’s killing the Kiwi dream of owning your own place, says Labour’s housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. Latest QV stats show that Queenstown ...

The First Reading in Parliament today of his Our Work, Our Future Bill is a chance for political parties to ensure the government buys Kiwi-made more often and backs Kiwi jobs, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little. The reading ...

Solid Energy is showing no moral spine and should not have any legal right to block re-entry into the Pike River drift, says Damien O’Connor MP for West Coast-Tasman. “Todays failed meeting with representatives from the state owned company is ...

A briefing to the Minister of Education reveals 20,000 at-risk students can’t be found, undermining claims by Hekia Parata that a new funding model would ensure additional funding reached students identified as at-risk, says Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins. ...

The Treasury has wasted $10 million in two years on the National Government's flawed state house sell off programme, including nearly $5.5 million on consultants, says Labour Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. "New Zealand needs more state housing than ever, with ...

Yesterday, the Minister for Trade misused economic data in order to try to make the case for more so-called ‘trade agreements’ like the TPPA which are actually deregulatory straitjackets in disguise. In welcoming a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade ...

Wages have plummeted for people with skilled migrant visas working in low-skilled occupations, driving down wages for workers in a number of industries, says Labour’s Immigration Spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway. “Documents acquired by Labour under the Official Information Act reveal that ...

The Government's failure to act on recommendations from Judge Henwood, based on years of work by the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service (CLAS) will further undermine any faith victims may have put into the process, says Labour’s Children’s Spokesperson Jacinda ...

National’s failure to deal with the housing crisis in New Zealand is once again being exposed by the Reserve Bank today, in a scathing assessment of the Government’s response, says Labour Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson “Governor Wheeler is clearly worried ...

On Friday, the Minister for Food Safety, along with her Australian colleagues finally looked at the issue of mandatory labelling of palm oil. We’ve been calling for mandatory labelling for years and we were hoping that the Ministers would agree ...

The ineffectiveness of the National Government’s approach to schooling has been highlighted by the latest Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS) report released overnight, Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says. ...

This week Parliament will select another members’ bill from the cookie tin (I kid you not, it really is a cookie tin) and I’ve just launched a new bill I’m hoping will get pulled – to help people get into ...

I want to end homelessness and ensure that everyone has a warm, safe, dry home. This National Government has let down New Zealanders, especially the thousands of New Zealanders who are struggling with something so basic and important as housing. ...

Kiwis affected by earthquakes might not get a fair deal if the Government pushes ahead with secret plans to let private insurers take over the assessment of claims, says Labour’s Canterbury spokesperson Megan Woods. “Under questioning from Labour the Government ...

The Prime Minister’s fixation with tax cuts, despite a failure to pay down any debt and growing pressure on public services is the real ‘load of nonsense’, says Labour Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. “We’re getting mixed messages from National. John ...

Last week we were very concerned to hear that an Auckland imam, Dr Anwar Sahib, had been preaching divisive and derogatory messages about Jewish people and women during his sermons. It was a disturbing incident coming at the end of ...

Tairāwhiti says yes to a clean environment for our mokopuna today and for generations to come. Tairāwhiti are have a responsibility to uphold their mana motuhake over their land and their peoples and are calling on the Government to honour ...

Today the Greens have unveiled a comprehensive set of initiatives around the politically fraught policy area of drug law and reform, showing Moral courage on the issue of Medical Cannabis that has been lacking in parliament. ...

Friday 9 December marks International Anti-Corruption Day. This was established after the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in October 2003 and came into being because of the UN's concerns over the huge dangers corruption poses ...

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling out those who are pushing for the implementation of a sugary drink tax as a ‘post-truth virtue signalling’ citing evidence that many of the claims being made about sugar taxes are demonstrably wrong. ...

“The current Government’s priorities for next year’s Budget say nothing about improving public services, yet deteriorating public services hurt working people as much as a pay cut,” says CTU Economist, Bill Rosenberg. ...

Corrections releases COTA reports To be attributed to Chief Custodial Officer Neil Beales: The United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture establishes an international inspection system for places of detention. The Ombudsmen has responsibility ...

I have today apologised to Mr Derek Leask and Mr Nigel Fyfe for issues identified by the Ombudsman relating to the Investigation into the Possible Unauthorised Disclosure of Information Relating to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and ...

I need to be clear that while the Ombudsman identified issues with fairness and process in the investigation and release of the final report, these concerns relate to one section of a wider report. ...

The union representing more than 900 ambulance officers says its members are pleased that St John has announced to staff it will begin interpreting the meal break provision differently, but they’re renewing their calls for more staff to help relieve ...

State Housing Action Network 7 December 2016 Media release: Overseas investors not welcome to buy Christchurch state houses The news that Housing New Zealand is holding an “invite-only” seminar in Sydney next week for potential buyers of state houses ...

The importance of good risk assessment and monitoring of offenders carrying out community work has been highlighted in today’s sentencing of the Corrections Department under the Health and Safety in Employment Act. ...

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi supports the decision by the Māori Women’s Welfare League to take a Treaty of Waitangi claim calling for a halt to the reforms to Child Youth and Family and shares the ...

Former New Zealand High Commissioner in London Derek Leask welcomes the formal decision by the State Services Commission (SSC) to accept the Ombudsman’s findings and recommendations on the SSC’s flawed 2012-13 Inquiry into the leaking of MFAT papers. ...

The new Board for Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) has been elected. The Board supersedes the Rural Women New Zealand National Council under new Rules and Bylaws ratified by the RWNZ membership at National Conference in 2015. ...

The Autistic Collective wholly supports the recent decision of the government to ban the practise of seclusion in schools. We also agree with statements made by Altogether Autism and the Human Rights Commission on the practise. ...

The New Zealand Government's proposal to take away legal responsibility for water fluoridation from local councils and give it to the District Health Boards could prove to be an exercise in futility. ...

Chief District Court Judge Jan Marie Doogue has entered a conviction against the Ministry of Social Development on a charge of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of its employees. Judge Doogue declined an MSD application ...

The Public Service is working through the implications of the judgement and sentence in the prosecution of the Ministry of Social Development by WorkSafe New Zealand following the shootings in the Ashburton Work and Income Office in 2014. ...

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nzBy Dr Alexandra Wake in Melbourne As a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Kirakira in the Solomon Islands early today, triggering a tsunami warning across the Pacific, many residents of the country would have ...

We are always comparing ourselves to other parents, but comparing yourself to animals probably isn’t always a good idea. Thom Adams explains why. Mother hens, tiger mums, pangolin dads… as parents, we do have a habit of comparing ourselves with ...

Every Friday, ‘The Album Cycle’ reviews a handful of new releases.ALBUM OF THE WEEKChildish Gambino – Awaken, My LoveGive it a first listen and you’d be forgiven for thinking Awaken, My Love! wasn’t a Childish Gambino record ...

Tara Ward does the unthinkable, and binge-watches 22 episodes of guinea pig dates on TVNZ Ondemand. It’s not often you enjoy a guinea pig’s quest for true love. Hardly ever, in fact. So when the televisual universe vomits up a ...

Henry Oliver tries to go deep with Los Angeles rapper Vince Staples, fails, and asks him about basketball and cartoons instead.Vince Staples is young, very skilled and very, very chill. He raps fast, but talks slow. His records are ...

As the country counts down to the Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz WBO world heavyweight championship fight, The Spinoff presents FIGHT WEEK, an inside look at the life and career of Joseph Parker. Today we’re republishing ‘Inside Team Parker’, the ...

With summer upon us, there is no better time to shut all the sunlight out of your room, pull a blanket over your head and watch TV until your eyes hurt. We assemble the best shows on Lightbox that you ...

Superstar of breakfast radio, All Black captain and owner of a world-class duck face, John Key is one hell of a hard act to follow. But is the PM-designate really that boring? Toby Manhire crushes forever the Dull Bill English ...

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nzPacific countries on tsunami alert following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake off Solomon Islands. Image: USGS A tsunami warning has been issued for several Pacific countries – including Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu ...

He wants to be a tax-raising and lowering, eat-the-rich Trump-but-not-like-that of the political centre. Duncan Greive heads to Parnell for the Gareth Morgan party’s very odd first policy launch. “Make New Zealand fair again,” says Gareth Morgan, more than once ...

New verse by Dunedin writer Emma Neale.Tag From the tangle of trees by the Warrender Street steps near where city council crews have been deleting the fuck-cunts and dick pics sprayed on the path, sharper than the ...

‘Business is Boring’ is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and ...

John Key was first elected Prime Minister in 2008. What was New Zealand like when the era of radio banter, ponytail pulling, and bad singing was just beginning? Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here. ...

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nzFear and Desperation: Refugees and Migrants Pour into Greece. Prizewinning footage shot in October 2015 – March 2016, Greece. Video: Rory Peck Awards Will Vassilopoulos, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) stringer since 2011, has won the Rory Peck ...

If we were able to speak to the people we were when we first became parents, what would we say? Kiri Speirs reaches back through the years to speak to the mum she was to her beloved daughter Zoe.Dear ...

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nzOPINION:By Peter S. Kinjap in Port Moresby Many current Papua New Guinean parliamentarians are highly respected individuals in their own areas – successful in business, education or public service. With such backgrounds, they routinely attract great ...

Novelist Graeme Lay bids a belated farewell to Auckland’s least glamorous but most useful shopping centre. It was one of the ugliest buildings in Auckland’s central business district, in a part of town where there was tough competition for that ...

The latest installment of Final Fantasy has been released from its cage into the arms of millions of fans. Resident Fantas-ites(?) Eugenia Woo and Matthew Codd settled around the old Skype and discussed what worked, what didn’t and why the ...

In the face of everything from anecdote posing as evidence to bias peddlers to outright quackery, the best riposte is to champion good science. But how? Dr Jessica Berentson-Shaw offers seven tips. Science and evidence gets a pretty bad ...

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nzA car is half buried under the remains of a collapsed house in Pidie Jaya regency, Aceh, on yesterday after an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale hit the northeastern part of the province. Image: ...

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nzRappler’s Evening wRap on President Duterte and the death penalty.By Mara Cepeda in Manila A proposed measure seeking to reimpose the death penalty in the Philippines has decisively passed the House committee level. Voting 12-6-1, the ...

All week this week we recommend the very best, A-grade quality, guaranteed good books for Christmas. Today: The Shops, by Steve Braunias and Peter Black. Why do photographers talk so much? The best thing about working with Wellington photographer Peter ...

An in-depth Spinoff investigation reveals exactly who invented What Now gunge and unravels the mystery of the secret recipe. Calum Henderson reports. A traditional What Now gunging. (Photo: YouTube – ‘What Now’s Best Gunge!’) “I was gunged while wearing a ...

A byelection is likely in Mt Albert should David Shearer’s South Sudan challenge be confirmed, signalling the departure of the last ex-leader, and leaving the question hanging: did Labour err in knifing him? “Former leaders” are a mixed blessing for ...